section of the A flat Polonaise not sustained with the pedal as marked by Chopin.
Similarly, on occasion one hears chord immediately prior to the final statement of the
theme, in A minor, at the end of the F major Ballade not sustained with the pedal as
marked by Chopin.
Personality
Chopin was slight and graceful, with fair hair and distinguished features. He never
weighed more than seven stone. He was gifted with perfect control of movement that
showed itself not only in his piano playing but also in his skill as a caricaturist and in his
extraordinary powers of mimicry.
To Chopin moving in the best circles meant everything. He dressed in the height of
fashion and kept a carriage. He had a precise mind and precise manners, was witty and
was ultra conservative in his aesthetic tastes. He made a good deal of money and spent it
lavishly, complaining that he did not have more. He once said: ‘You think I make a
fortune? Carriages and white gloves cost more, and without them one would not be in
good taste.’ He always dressed impeccably for his lessons: hair curled, shoes polished,
clothes elegant. Good taste meant everything to him. It certainly meant more to him than
the romantic movement sweeping Europe. That he avoided as much as he could. He
even disliked the word ‘romanticism’. Delacroix was perhaps his closest friend but he
did not even understand or like the paintings of Delacroix.
Chopin’s relations with the musicians of his day did not depend on his regard for their
music. He was not enthusiastic about the compositions of Schumann or Mendelssohn.
He did not like Berlioz’s music but admired him as a person. Differences of
temperament and one indiscretion on the part of Liszt turned their early intimacy into a
polite acquaintance.
Chopin’s favourite composers were Bach, Mozart and Scarlatti. He studied them
thoroughly and their ideals of workmanship figured in his own music. He was very fond
of the operas of Bellini.
Chopin’s moods fluctuated from the despair to nonchalance and he reacted in extremes to
events around him. He could be cool, calculating and cynical and a moment later
enthusiastic, cheerful and boisterously vulgar. It is only in his letters written in Polish
that we find the real Chopin. He never wrote freely in any other language. What he
sometimes wrote in Polish would surprise those who only know his character from the
sentimental utterances of his pupils and casual acquaintances.
Chopin’s long-time companion, the novelist Mme Dudevant known as George Sand,
described him as follows: ‘As he had charmingly polite manners one was apt to take as a
friendly courtesy what in him was only frigid disdain, if not an insuperable dislike.’
Cortot wrote of Chopin’s health: ‘The facts indicate human weaknesses and a certain
lack of mental balance, which most people at any rate will attribute to his poor state of